CALGARY — A surprise guest urging the city to spend its money wisely on addictions education programming added his voice to a council committee meeting — Calgary billionaire philanthropist Ron Mannix.

“This is the only time I have ever spoken at a city council meeting,” Mannix said with a chuckle after delivering a missive about funding for preventive programs at Wednesday’s community and protective services committee meeting.

As members approved spending $150,000 from city reserves to pay for a drug awareness program, Mannix approached the public microphone to add a few thoughts.

“I would just like to add my personal support to this initiative,” said Mannix, founder of the private Norlien Foundation and Alberta Family Wellness Initiative, which focus on childhood development, addiction, and mental health projects.

Mannix, 64, is known as a steadfast patron of the arts and wellness, and typically shuns the public spotlight. But drug awareness initiatives prompted him to speak out in support of the city spending money on education programs.

“This is like a pandemic threat. The best thing you can do is try to prevent them as fast as you can versus trying to deal with the problem once it arrives,” Mannix said.

“I would say in all cases across Alberta, both the city and province, we are spending money in many, many different places in many different ways and not being effective in the treatment in the issue of addiction. That’s the fundamental problem,” he said.

“Addiction is a chronic brain disease and it takes long, long term treatment. Related to the resources that the city has, I would encourage you to look at what you are spending in the different areas and how you might divert some of it from one area to another to become much more effective. And becoming more effective very much is the ounce of prevention versus the pound of cure. We say that all the time but, man, it is huge.”

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